Match Discussion: Game 9 - The Shaymen (A)

[PON_News]

Game 9 - The Shaymen (A)

Team: FC Halifax Town

Date: 17/11/2020

Where: The Shay

What line-up should Neal Ardley opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

Despite being 20th, Halifax actually have the joint best defence in the league. They have struggled more on the scoring front. Combine that with our efforts away from home, it points to me that this game will be a long, boring 90 minutes of frustration and annoyance. I'd predict a 0-0, but then again we have a penchant for gifting teams 3 points from a corner or when thinking we are Barcelona in our own box, so it could easily be a 1-0 home win. 

My prediction: 0-0 bore draw.
Attendance: 1, 862, 000

I desperately hope I'm wrong though, I've paid for the stream!!

Starting Line-up:



Back 4 fairly solid, protected by Reeves (legs) and Doyle (know how). If they are very direct, you'd be tempted to put a Ben Turner in there, but in my mind the play-off final is still too fresh, I have nightmares seeing his turning circle.

Going forward, Doyle to play the neat passes left and right and Rodrigues to pick those forward passes we so often lack, plus given the freedom to roam and get in the box as he sees fit. Thomas to offer the direct threat, getting them turned, uses his pace and physicality. Roberts to get himself on the ball and beat his man.

I think this is too attacking for what Neal Ardley usually puts out away from home. Obviously a lot of his team selection depends on fitness, what happened with covid etc... but I'd expect to see something more like this:

4-3-3 by name, but pretty much a 4-5-1. Time will tell!

Good preview here:
https://www.nottscountystats.com/post/preview-f-c-halifax-town-a

[liampie]

they seem a poor team from what i have seen, not being able to take chances and being poor in possession. there keeper is quite decent for this level, i dont know what to predict score wise but i can see it being a close game.

unless notts lifts their performance on the pitch.

[Dripsey3]

Talk about a banana skin fixture for Notts. Just like Dover (lost) and Aldershot (lost), it's a trend that needs to end. Halifax haven't scored in their last 3 games, including a 2-0 defeat at South Shields in the FA Cup. If this was a normal season, no interruptions, I think Notts would win this comfortably, but it isn't s normal season and the stop start nature isn't helping Notts. I'll go for 1-0 to Notts. This is a chance to gain ground on Torquay who aren't playing tomorrow.  

[menzinho]

Halifax are in a similar situation to us in that they’ve had a stop start season. I can’t see it being a great game, I think both sides will be rusty but we should have enough about us to get a win. Pass it out from the back, that’s fine but please don’t mess around with it! We really can’t afford anymore stupid mistakes that cost us the game. A draw wouldn’t be disastrous but we really could do with a win.

I'll also go 1-0 Notts, Sam to score. Yes, I going all out here. Elisha Sam, off the bench to score the winner!

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

9 hours ago, menzinho said:

 

I'll also go 1-0 Notts, Sam to score. Yes, I going all out here. Elisha Sam, off the bench to score the winner!

Big shout. 

[Chris]

It's all gone out of the window with the stops and, starts.

You'd expect Halifax to favour themselves, not just because they're at home but due to them being match sharp. Hopefully, we have done our home work and, understand that they aren't the best on the ball, at least they struggle to be clinical. In midfield they can move the ball, but can be poor. They also tend to panic at the back, so it could be interesting if both teams decide to pressure themselves.

It will either finish 3-1 to someone, or 1-1 if the game ends up being tighter.

The first prediction could sway either way, I hope in favour of Notts but who knows which team will play for the points.

[menzinho]

18 hours ago, menzinho said:

I'll also go 1-0 Notts, Sam to score. Yes, I going all out here. Elisha Sam, off the bench to score the winner!

8 hours ago, Super_Danny_Allsopp said:

Big shout. 

Yeah. Given Thomas was reported to be ill, I assume we'll see him at some point tonight. I get it when he first came in he hadn’t played for a while but he’s had months of training with the team now. Surely he’s ready now?!

He’s been getting gradually better in each appearance he’s had… 

Okay, he had a half-decent chance against Aldershot that that he fluffed, but he got himself into a scoring position. Tonight I’m hoping he’ll finish one off.

[Chris]

Elisa Sam has scored @menzinho.

Que people saying he's megastar, the next big thing since Kyle Wootton.

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

What a way to throw another game. Notts push the self-destruct button yet again!

 

23 hours ago, menzinho said:

I'll also go 1-0 Notts, Sam to score. Yes, I going all out here. Elisha Sam, off the bench to score the winner!

Good call it turned out. Should have been the winner. 

 

On 16/11/2020 at 13:13, Super_Danny_Allsopp said:

If they are very direct, you'd be tempted to put a Ben Turner in there, but in my mind the play-off final is still too fresh, I have nightmares seeing his turning circle.
 

And that turning circle has come back to haunt us once again. 

[Dripsey3]

7 games played. 3 wins. 1 draw. 3 defeats. Playing catch up already. Notts never do it the easy way.

[Chris]

Pretty annoyed about this, but the fault falls onto the players for switching off and, for failing to put a good performance together.

I don't blame Neal Ardley, he's got a task to motive these lot and, to get them giving more in games. it's just not good enough that we switch off so easily, this season it's starting to cost us that we don't hold onto narrow leads.

I fear social media will be rife pinning all the blame onto one man's shoulders.

If we had won, it would've made a small difference but probably not to those who always want him gone after every game.

[menzinho]

Yes Turner’s mistake was a shocker (another defensive error costing us points) but the performance on the whole again was poor and we didn’t deserve the win. We didn’t create much and we’ve gone from having one of the most solid defences to one that’s a bit all over the place with more than one mistake in them. We were lucky Halifax’s crossing and final ball was poor, is that why we just let them do it over and over again?

I’m getting also getting worried about this Doyle-Reeves-O’Brien trio, there’s no real competition for these places. But Reeves looks to be a step above the other two…

Enzio is just not on it at all. Wootton struggled. The only real positive was that Sam scored.

I know I said a draw wouldn't be the worst result, but I'm feeling pretty deflated after that.

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

We tried more than once to score for them. Lacey gave it a good go by passing to them under the slightest bit of pressure. Then Reeves had a go selling Slocombe short. Then Slocombe had a couple of goes by coming out and getting nowhere near it, allowing them to nip in. 

They missed some pretty gilt-edged chances to. Their finishing was as bad as Robert's, luckily for us.

I think a lot of our players have the wrong mental attitude. Wootton seems to think that falling over all game was a good tactic, despite the ref never giving him anything at all. Why he persisted with that, god only knows. Thank the lord we had Sam up there, because otherwise nothing would have stuck. 

Lacey-Rawlinson went from a solid partnership to a mistake waiting to happen. They look less blood and thunder and more like they think they can coast through games. They can't. ******* shocking.

As predicted, we have no backup for underperforming players. Who will we swap Lacey for? Cart-horse Turner or error prone Graham? Wootton is out of form and needs a kick up his backside. Enzio might as well be retired the way he glides about. Doyle needs a rest, but who is going to play instead of him?

This game has reinforced what I said before it. Ticky tock, change it before this season gets away from us.

[Dripsey3]

It's a steady decline to be honest. The basics are not even being executed now. Sloppy in possession. Switching off at key moments. Making catastrophic errors that lead to goals. The team needs a collective kick up the arse. The complacency is just not good enough.

[DonnyNotts]

Not good enough

[DangerousSausage]

Dropping two points at the death is galling, but it sounds like we had been inviting the equaliser for a long time before that. We've got multiple players who are out of form, yet there's no-one who can step into the breach. Now we need a reaction.

In mitigation, it's been impossible to build up any kind of momentum this season and, if we'd seen this one out and held on to our lead against Maidenhead, we'd be looking at 5 wins out of 7 despite some underwhelming performances.